My Community
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: xrayspecs on October 17, 2013, 01:47:38 PM
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You may recall I wrote off my bike after riding into a pothole.
The council have admitted liability for this, so i thought I would share some points so it may help others in future.
I had BC gold membership so this includes free legal cover , they instructed a firm of solicitors so I didn't have to do any running around. (As recommended by Steven Madeley).
You need to document everything including multiple photos showing the context and depth of the hole (I put a large matchbox in it to show the size as it was about 5 inches deep). I am grateful to the race marshalls for this although I added my own. As soon as the council know there has been an incident they will fill the hole in so it would be impossible to prove.
Document all your losses e.g clothes with receipts bike damage with a quote from a shop etc with lots of photos.
Find some witnesses to the event (easy as Rob J saw it all).
I think the key here was as it was an A road and the holes had been reported by the organisers several months ago the council could be shown to have been negligent in its duty, the solicitors made the point however that they are not responsible for maintaining a glass smooth road.
I would highly recommend the BC gold cover as it has made the whole thing pretty much hassle free but I know of others (Chris C) in this club and elsewhere who have pursued these things themselves.
And no I didn't claim for personal injury / whiplash!!!